Dear Mum............

From one Mum to another. I understand that you might be scared.

 I understand that you might be confused.

I understand the feelings of guilt, responsibility and shame.

I understand the uncertainty, going from hopefulness to utter despair.

I even understand that some of you might feel reluctant to seek support, unsure of who you can talk to and trust.

I understand because I have been there too. 

My son was radicalised when he was 14/15 years old.  It started when a friend showed him a meme on his phone. That meme angered my young and influential son and he soon joined a Far-Right social media platform.

It was from there that our lives and the hopes for the future started to decline.

My son was radicalised from the safety of his bedroom, which was only a few feet away from me.

Those faceless individuals quickly had an influence on him, he had more respect for them than he did his own family. 

They didn’t just take over my son, they took over our life.

During those dark days, we were just surviving. One day blended into another. Days that were filled with tension, anger, uncertainty and confusion.

I knew things were very wrong and as a parent, as his Mum, it was my responsibility to fix it.

And I tried, believe me I tried. I talked to him, reasoned  with and challenged him. I disciplined him. I asked some trusted friends and family members to talk to him, however nothing I did helped. He had no respect or time for anyone anymore and in trying to resolve this I only made things worse.

Things only began to improve with professional support from an organisation that specialised in and  that understood Radicalisation and Extremism.

Love alone couldn’t have fixed this. Just like love alone can not cure illness. With illness you wouldn’t hesitate to take them to see a specialist in the field in which they are suffering, then you would rely on their guidance and knowledge to help you and your loved one.

This is no different, and the sooner you get support, the possibility of a positive outcome improves.

So if this any of you are reading this today and you are going through something similar.

The best thing you can do for your loved one is to get them help, do not wait. Neither of you needs to suffer unnecessarily, and whilst you remain indecisive, the chance of your loved one getting into serious trouble increases.

Although Love alone cannot fix this, you can love your loved one by getting help, advice and support that can benefit all of you.

To get help, we recomend families should reach out to: 

www.actearly.uk       Telephone - 0800 -011 -3764

Act Early is amazing. Here you will find specialist trained officers who will listen and offer advice

It is a non criminal space where you can share your concerns and receive advice and support that you will help both you and your loved one.

Sarah

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